#NYCRestaurantWeek: The Eatin’s Good

My summer budgeting fix? Eat PB & J. Needless to say, my culinary experiences got the axe to subsidize summer travel, wedding gifts (three weddings this summer), and the mani-pedi’s. I decided that this cutback would allow me to indulge in Restaurant Week which seems to be going for a few weeks.

My “food” friend and I made reservations for Fig & Olive in Meatpacking district. I really needed a grown-up girl laid-back dinner. Voila! I waited for my friend at the bar, enjoying a nice Chardonnay. Upon her arrival, we were given the choice of indoor/outdoor and opted to enjoy the street ambiance. Our Prix-fixe selections included:

Normally, my strategy for such a dining experience would be to order different things so we could maximize the culinary adventure but we were in the mood for the exact same things (except for dessert). I love cheese and the Manchego/Gorgonzola combo did not disappoint. The fish entree delighted as well. Dessert was fantastic, pretty much upscale versions of basic favorites – chocolate pudding & strawberry graham cracker pie. The chocolate was to die for; we tried to eat in a civilized fashion but I’m afraid we did not.

Dessert binge!

Later in the week, my roommate and I tried out Frankie & Johnnie’s. She had been in a play wherein the two main (& only) characters were named such. Neither of us knew anything about the restaurant, nor are we really steakhouse girls, we were going for her nostalgia and the fact that chocolate lava cake was a dessert option.

I’m not really a midtown fan, but I really liked the vibe of this place. It actually had personality – every place I’ve been in midtown feels overly commercial and overpriced for your basic burger & fries. And it was quiet! Maybe that’s because it was 8:30 on a Tuesday night…

Our selections:

Red Rock Merlot to drink (a very generous glass)

Crab Cake & Clams Oreganata

F&J Surf & Turf & Roasted Chicken

Bread Pudding & Chocolate Lava Cake

The crab cake had shredded potatoes on top, which was different for me but the sauce – what its ingredients were, I’m not sure – very aromatic and savory. No A-1 sauce for the steak! But the house sauce was great – although the steak was a little chewy – and the shrimp was okay. As a southerner, I’m always suspicious of bread pudding made above the Mason-Dixon line, but this sufficed. Fresh cinnamon abounded throughout, and the rum sauce had a savory finish. We liked our desserts so well, we did not share.

The service was flawless; a crumb-scraper even got whipped out! I will definitely keep this place on my list for the next time I’m trapped in midtown.